Making your back yard hospitable

A locally produced nature show, which premieres Tuesday, will put the spotlight on native animals.

The host of a new local television program hopes that her passion for finding ways for people and wildlife to coexist will make the show a success.

Your Back Yard will premier at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday on Ch. 16 in both the Bright House and Adelphia cable systems and on WYKE TV49.

The focus of the show, said host Jody Ann, is to make people aware of how they can make their own section of the great outdoors a more hospitable place.

"I'm a native Floridian who moved here two years ago," Ann said. "And I think Citrus County is one of the last untouched areas of the state."

Each episode of Your Back Yard will familiarize viewers with animals that are native to our area. The first week's program will deal with great horned, barred and screech owls, Ann said.

"We'll talk about them and also show how to build an owl box for them to live in your back yard," she said.

The show's executive producer is Joe Espin, a veteran outdoors writer who has been doing a local fishing program for seven years called Florida Angler.

"I've been wanting to do this kind of a program for a long time, but it wasn't until Jody Ann came along, with her enthusiasm and love of wildlife, that all the pieces fit together."

Espin said the main focus of the program will be to emphasize that co-existence is the key to preserving wildlife.

During Tuesdays' program, viewers will be given a tour of Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, then the show focuses on the owls and the owl box.

The second episode of Your Back Yard deals with snakes.

- Jorge Sanchez covers Citrus County arts and entertainment and can be reached at 860-7313 Send e-mail to sanchez@sptimes.com

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